Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This year for Easter I wanted to try making a carrot cake. I follow 3 or 4 or more cooking blogger and they ALL posted "The Best" carrot cake ever, and none of them were the same! How annoying! So I found a recipe I thought looked the best and changed it up a bit as usual. It turned out well I though. Charlotte helped me make it and we took it to Grandma Jenny's house for Olivia's birthday dinner. Everyone said it was good- except Charlotte! She didn't like it. I also learned that if you have too much baking soda in your batter, it makes the carrots turn green! They are sensitive to pH. So are blueberries, sunflowers and walnuts. (Do they turn green too??) So next time I make this I will cut down on the amount of baking soda I put in. The recipe this is closest too only had 1 and 1/4 tsp baking powder, so maybe I need to decrease that too. I'm still learning about baking soda vs baking powder and what the different types of baking powder are available. But that's a whole other story! My cake did sink in the middle a little - another sign of too much baking soda!

CAKE:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda - (Use LESS! or maybe less baking powder?)
1 heaping teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pound medium carrots, ends trimmed unpeeled - I ended up using 4 carrots
 1 cup sugar
 1 cup packed light brown sugar
 4 large eggs
1 cup oil (I think it should only be 3/4 c! Also a reason the cake might sink in the middle.)
3/4 cup applesauce
Pecans - Optional - I wanted to put some in the cake, but Charlotte said no! Otherwise I think I would have added 1 cup of chopped pecans.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13 inch baking pan with cooking spray.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and salt; set aside. In a food processor fitted with large shredding disk shred the carrots.
In a large bowl beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs on medium-high speed until thoroughly combined, about 45 seconds.Reduce the speed to medium and with the mixer running, add oil in a slow, steady stream. Increase the speed to high and mix until the batter is light in color and well emulsified, about 45 seconds to 1 minute longer. Stir in carrots the carrots and dry ingredients by hand until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain (don't over mix).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
 5 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
 1 tablespoon sour cream
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
 Toasted, chopped pecans, for garnish (optional)

Mix the cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand mixer until well combined, about 30 seconds. scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add the powdered sugar and mix until very fluffy, about 1-2 minutes. Frost the cake and top with toasted, chopped pecans, if desired.

Adria helped me decorate it. She used a frosting tip to put little dots all over the top of the cake and then added Easter and spring sprinkles to the top. It was very cute - but I didn't get a picture of it.

Easter Dinner- Chicken Saltimbocca and Spring Risotto

I follow WAY too many cooking blogs and get emails from too many cooking sites! I've realized I have more recipes than I have time to ever cook them! Today I had the day off work and spent it cooking! I thought today would be a good day for Easter dinner because I have to work on Saturday and then we have an extended family birthday/ Easter dinner on Sunday. This morning I made breakfast cookies and mini lemon poppy seed Bundt cakes. I will finish the cakes this weekend for Easter. I hope they are good. We haven't tried the cookies yet either- I'm hoping the kids will eat them for breakfast! Then, I started on dinner. That was out of my comfort zone. I bake. I don't cook. Luckily Ryan was around and helped me out a bunch. I really don't know how I would have done it without him there. As it was I prepped a bunch of the veggies earlier in the afternoon. I found the chicken recipe on Bon Appetit and the risotto recipe on Once Upon a Chef. I made a few changes to the chicken recipe after we found a video of someone else's Chicken Saltimbocca recipe. I think we followed the Risotto recipe fairly closely. Here's the recipes we made:

Chicken Saltimbocca with Crunchy Pea Salad
2 (8 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
3 large eggs, beaten to blend
2 cups panko
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ oz sage leaves
4 thin slices prosciutto
vegetable oil
4 green onions, very thinly sliced on a diagonal
8 oz. sugar snap peas, strings removed, thinly sliced
½ cup mint leaves, thinly sliced (I use herb scissors)
1 Lemon
1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Place a chicken breasts on a cutting board. Holding a knife parallel to board and working along a long side, cut through center of breasts. Place one piece in a gallon freezer bag and gently pound as thin as possible without tearing meat about ¼" thick. Repeat with remaining cutlets.

Divide the sage leaves evenly and place them on top each each cutlet. Cover with a slice of prosciutto.

Place eggs, panko, and flour in separate shallow bowls. Dredge each cutlet in flour, shaking off excess. Dip in eggs, letting excess drip back into bowl. Coat in panko, pressing lightly to help it adhere, then shaking off excess.

Pour ¼ to ½ inch vegetable oil in a large skillet and heat over medium-high until very hot. Carefully place 1 cutlet in hot oil and cook just until bottom side is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Using tongs, carefully turn and cook until golden brown on the other side, about 2 minutes. Place on a wire rack or a paper towel covered plate. Repeat with remaining cutlet.

Zest the lemon and toss scallions, peas, mint, lemon zest and juice from 1/2 of the lemon and olive oil in a bowl. Cut the other half of the lemon into small wedges. Place chicken on a plate and top with pea salad. Serve with lemon wedges.

Spring Risotto with Asparagus & Peas

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 to 1 ½ bunch asparagus, preferably thin, trimmed and cut into 1-in pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
2 tsp garlic paste
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup white cooking wine
½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for serving

Put chicken broth in a microwave proof container and heat until simmering. (It may need to be reheated if it cools.)
Meanwhile, in a large pot, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the asparagus, salt, and a few grind of pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the peas and continue cooking until the peas are defrosted, about 1 minute. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl and set aside.
In the same pot over medium-low heat, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Do not brown. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until glossy and translucent around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook until completely absorbed, about 1 minute. Ladle about 1 cup of the simmering broth into the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until absorbed. Continue adding the broth, 1 cup at a time and stirring frequently until it is absorbed, until the rice is al dente and creamy, about 25 minutes. (Be careful not to get distracted while the rice is cooking; while it doesn’t require a lot of skill, it does require you to keep a close eye on it to prevent sticking.)
Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano, and remaining tablespoon of butter into the risotto. Keep covered until ready to serve. Just before serving stir in the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve with extra Parmigiano-Reggiano to put on top of the rice.

Mango Avocado smoothies, Strawberry Rice Crispy Treats, Artisan Bread and Crème Brûlée

It's been awhile since I posted. I have made lots of recipes with the intent of adding them here... BUT who has the time?? So here are some of the pics and maybe a link to the recipe.

Mango Avocado Smoothie

This is from a recipe card I got in the mail from Smiths. It is pretty good, but rather tart. We added a stevia powder to it and then it was great.

1/4 ripe avocado, peeled and diced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen mango cubes
1/3 cup plain, nonfat yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup water
1 cup ice cubes

Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Serve immediately. Serves 2. Per serving: 90 Cal, 3.5 g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 25mg sodium, 13g carbs, 2g fiber,9g sugar, 5g protein.

Soft Pretzels - We made these for the girls cooking club. They are yummy! Genna and Adria have the recipe if you want it. Or I have it somewhere on my computer too. 

Ashlee's Cowboy Salsa - I don't think I made any changes- Maybe added more cilantro and definitely the avocado!

Ryan's birthday was this past month- I wanted to try some of the other recipes from the same class where I got the Princess Torte. So I tried the Black Forest Cake- I used cherry flavor instead of kirschwasser. I don't think I will make it again- It was good enough, but not our favorite. The cherry filling is cinnamon flavored. I actually used the extra second cake that the recipe makes and the extra filling and made a second cake with chocolate frosting.

Of course I had to make Ryan's Princess Cake! It had leftovers too- So I tried making some cake balls out of it. They weren't fabulous. So while I intended to make a recipe out of them, it wasn't worth it. 

I discovered a delicious recipe from Our Best Bites for Strawberry Rice Crispy Treats. I made them a couple of times - Once for the Valentine's Day Party Adria and I had for all the girl cousins and the next door neighbors. I only made a couple of changes- Left out the almond extract (mostly because I forgot it both times!) and I put them in a 9x13 pan instead of the smaller pan. The bigger pan was a perfect size!

6 tablespoons butter
6 cups Strawberry Rice Krispies (Yes they do make these! Found them at Smiths!)
1 16oz bag mini marshmallows (about 10 cups)
1oz freeze-dried strawberries
1 teaspoon almond extract (skipped it)

Line an 8×8 (or 9×9) pan with parchment, if desired. (Use a 9x13!)
Place butter in a large pot on the stove top.  While it’s melting, place Krispie Cereal in a separate large bowl and add 1 1/2 cups marshmallows.  Use your hands to gently crush the freeze-dried berries as you add them to the bowl with the cereal.  You don’t need to pulverize them, just crush them into smaller pieces.
When butter is melted, add remainder of  marshmallow bag and stir until completely melted and smooth.  Remove from heat and add almond extract.  Use a rubber spatula to scrape out all marshmallow mixture and pour over cereal mixture.  Gently stir until cereal is completely coated and transfer mixture into pan.
Coat hands with a little butter (I use wet hands instead) and then gently press down (DON’T pack it down, gently press!) and let sit until cooled and set.  Cut into squares to serve.


Saturday White Bread is a recipe from a cookbook called Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast by Ken Forkish. It's an entire book about how to make bread! It is very educational. Maybe a little too much. I don't own it, but I do keep checking it out from the library! I have only made 1 recipe out of it- the one that takes the least amount of time- 5 hours! HA HA HA! But it is DELICIOUS! Adria has a peasant bread recipe we really like that is much faster. BUT the extra time this one takes makes is taste LOTS better! I took photos of the recipe - all four pages! And it refers to other pages as well.

For Valentine's Day I made Crème Brûlée. I used the kitchen torch I got for my birthday from Andrea - I did have to go buy the fuel for it and some crème brûlée dishes. Amazingly enough it was cheaper to buy both of those things at Smiths than at Amazon. So that was my Valentine's day gift to myself. :-) I used the recipe from Sally's Baking Addiction. I didn't make any changes. I even added the ESPRESSO POWDER! I know! What a shock. I have read about it a lot and how it is added to all chocolate cakes to make them taste better. I found some on clearance at Smith's a few weeks before I decided to make these. And then when I got the email with the recipe it seemed like the perfect time to try it out. It really does make a difference! It doesn't take like coffee at all.

5 large egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste

Preheat oven to 325°F. Whisk the egg yolks and 1/2 cup  of granulated sugar together. Set aside. Bring a small pot of water to a boil.
Heat the heavy cream, espresso powder, and salt together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. As soon as it begins to simmer, remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla paste. Remove about 1/2 cup of warm heavy cream and, in a slow and steady stream, whisk into the egg yolks. Keep those egg yolks moving so they don’t scramble. In a slow and steady stream, pour and whisk the egg yolk mixture into the warm heavy cream.
Place 6 ramekins in a large baking pan - I used a half sheet baking pan. Divide custard between each, filling to the top. Carefully fill the pan with about a 1/2 inch of the hot water. The baking pan will be hot so use an oven mitt to carefully transfer the pan to the oven.
Bake until the edges are set and centers are a little jiggly- 30 to 35 min. The time depends on the depth of your ramekins. Begin checking them at 30 minutes. For a more accurate sign, they’re done when an instant read thermometer registers 170°F (Mine never seemed to get this hot- not sure why but I didn't want to over cook them and they seemed done! And I read it's really easy to over cook them!- More likely than under cooking them.)
Remove pan from the oven and, using an oven mitt, remove the ramekins from the pan. Place on a wire rack to cool for at least 1 hour. Place in the refrigerator, loosely covered, and chill for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days before topping.
Using the remaining granulated sugar, sprinkle a thin layer all over the surface of the chilled custards. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch and serve immediately or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 hour before serving. (Caramelized topping is best enjoyed right away.- it get's soggy later.)

I don't know why but I wanted to make a Strawberry Trifle. Probably because I thought it would be a great way to use up the rest of the extra chiffon cake I had in the freezer from Ryan's birthday cake (I had to remake that part of it because my cake kept falling - I discovered a bunch about baking powder doing this - but that's another story.) I had a recipe I got for my wedding from Kelly Kline- She was in my ward growing up. She gave us a trifle bowl with the recipe. I took the bowl back, but kept the recipe. So when I decided to make it I had to go to Walmart and buy a new trifle bowl. BUT the recipe was too big for the bowl! So I had to dump it in another bowl. I took it to Mom's house Sunday when everyone came and they all said it was great! It's an easy recipe. I did have to check a few other recipes on the internet to figure out exactly what she meant because her recipe wasn't clearly written. And I did have to make some extra cake- but it worked out great because I had extra egg whites from the crème brûlée so I made half an angel food cake.

1 Angel Food Cake or left over chiffon cake
1 package Strawberry Danish Dessert
2 pounds frozen strawberries
1 pt whipping cream
1/2 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1 large (5oz) package vanilla pudding.

Slightly thaw the strawberries so they can be cut in half or into bite size pieces. Make the Danish dessert as directed with 1 and 1/2 cups cold water. (I think that's what I used... might have been 1 and 3/4 cup). After the Danish dessert has thickened, remove from heat and stir in the strawberries. Put in fridge to cool. Prepare the pudding as directed. Whip the cream with the sugar and vanilla. Tear cake into bite size pieces and put a layer in the bottom of the bowl. Add half the strawberry mixture on top and then half the pudding and half the cream. Repeat the layers (I had to dump mine into a bowl before I repeated the layers so the strawberries ended up on the bottom and the layers a messy- but it tasted good.) The recipe suggested topping with shaved chocolate and hiding a nut somewhere in the trifle, but I didn't do that.


For Ryan's birthday (a week late) I found several recipes for dinner and then bought all the ingredients for them. I was thinking I could do the cooking too- BUT that didn't work out. Work really takes a chunk out of your day! So I only made one of the recipes and he made the rest of them. I made Quick Baked Chicken Parmesan. It turned out alright. Ryan likes the recipe he made last year for Valentines day- I think I posted it, but I'm not sure. It's a Parmesan crusted chicken with creamy bacon sauce or something like that. And it's good! This recipe is good too- but maybe not as fabulous. The kids all ate it though, so that was a win! I did learn that chicken cutlets are just chicken breast cut in half horizontally to make 2 thinner slices.

Old Fashioned Gingerbread Cake

Last Christmas I made a gingerbread cake and wanted to make the same one this year for Ryan's family Christmas party. Unfortunately I didn't post the recipe and couldn't remember where I saved it. After some looking around on the internet and in my saved files, I finally decided I made this one posted on allrecipes. After I made it, I flipped through some of the reviews and realized it wasn't exactly the same- I had made some of the modifications they suggested. So for the Christmas Eve party at the Wright house, I searched through my STACKS of recipes and found the printed copy where I made all the changes. (As a side note - we got 7 cookbooks for Christmas at our house this year!- 4 for Adria and 3 for me) Because Adria was doing dairy free I made a couple of other changes this year. So for comparison sake here are the recipes I made:

Original Recipe                                Modified Recipe 

Strong Molasses flavor                    Spicier (more flavorful)

Darker color                                      lighter color

1/2 cup sugar                                   1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter                                  1/2 c butter

1 egg                                                   1 egg

1 cup molasses                               3/4 cup molasses

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour         2  1/4 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda       1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon    2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger           2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves      1/2 teaspoon cloves (this year I did 1 tsp)

1/2 teaspoon salt                        1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (this year I did 1 tsp)

1 cup hot water                             1/2 teaspoon salt

                                                          1/4 c hot water

                                                           1 c buttermilk (this year I did all water)

                                                         5 to 6 TBSP crystallized ginger (forgot it

                                                         this yr)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch square pan. Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses. Add the spices and salt. Mix in the flour then stir in the hot water. Pour into the pan. Bake 1 hour in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan before serving.  (The modified recipe only cooks for 45 minutes - I think I only cooked the original recipe for 50 minutes.)

The modified recipe cracked more on the top when I made it. Not really sure why. Guess I need to do more studying on the chemistry of cooking! 

I made dairy free caramel for Adria too - it turned out well:

13.5 oz coconut milk 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1 tsp pure vanilla 

1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)

Combine coconut milk and brown sugar in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil. Let it boil for around 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously, then lower to a simmer. Let it simmer—stirring as needed—until it cooks down to about half its volume and thickens. This usually takes around 50-60 minutes, Turn off the heat, stir in the vanilla and salt, and let it sit for about an hour. Cover and refrigerate overnight – it continues to thicken as it sits.

Dairy Free Peppermint Cupcakes and other desserts

The past few weeks Adria has complained of a stomach ache - more so than usual. We have suspected she is lactose intolerant like Ryan for awhile now, and she had been taking the same pills he takes, but she still complained a fair amount. We finally took her to the doctor and he said she needed to go a dairy free diet for 2 weeks. At the end of 2 weeks we can try her on some hard aged cheese. If she does ok with that, we will know it's a lactose intolerant problem. But if that bothers her stomach than it's a milk protein allergy. So the 2 weeks ends on Christmas day, but in the meantime we have been working on diary free food for her. She isn't very happy about it! We have tried to find substitutes that she can eat: Dairy free (AKA vegan butter), dairy free whipped cream (coconut milk), and dairy free chocolate (Trader Joes). After some internet searches we found Earth Balance buttery sticks are the best for cooking and so far they've been great- I have a gingerbread cake in the oven right now made with it, and I used it for all the other recipes too. 

So for Christmas Adria wanted a panettone. We had bought one before we found out about doing the dairy free diet and it has milk in it. So I made some instead. I tried 2 different recipes. They both turned out great. The hard part was making my own Panettone molds. I did that with some card board, staples and flour glue. I go the idea from this website here. I tried a recipe from Zoe Francois. She has published several cook books and I have watched some Craftsy classes she taught. The second recipe I tried was from King Arthur Flour. They both turned out well. But they both really browned. I think next time I will cover them with foil sooner. I did use a thermometer to make sure they were cooked to 190 degrees. 

We are going to John and Andrea's house for a Christmas Party tonight. Grandma Andrea always buys whatever dessert they have at Costco and they aren't milk free. So I told Adria I would make here whatever dessert she wanted. She wanted cupcakes with frosting. I didn't think she really liked chocolate that much, but I was wrong- that is the one thing she has complained about the most during the last week or two. She's not a dark chocolate fan either but I think she's learning to like it more now that she can't have milk. Last night she said the Trader Joe's chocolate was really good. 

Adria asked for vanilla cupcakes and chocolate frosting. I suggested adding peppermint and she thought would be great - with CANDY CANE Sprinkles! 

Cupcakes

1 and 3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/3 cup oil

1 Tbsp white vinegar

In a mixing bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add the soy milk, vanilla, oil and vinegar and mix briefly to remove any big lumps. Line a 12-cupcake tray with cupcake liners and divide the batter evenly between them. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cupcakes comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Peppermint Frosting 

I used this as a guide, but mostly just added stuff until I had enough frosting that tasted like we wanted -Pretty much how I always make frosting. 

1/4 cup vegan butter

3 cups powdered sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp peppermint extract

3 to 4 Tbsp soy milk 

Crushed candy canes

Cream the powdered sugar with the butter. Add the cocoa powder and peppermint extract. Mix well. Add milk a little at a time to get the right consistence for frosting. Add more sugar if needed and more cocoa powder if you want a darker chocolate flavor. Put frosting into a piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes. Sprinkle with crushed candy canes. 

Since I made these on our anniversary, Ryan bought me a cupcake holder for an anniversary gift! I told him that's what I wanted. 

Thanksgiving Desserts - Pecan Pie Bars and Cranberry Apple Cake

We spent Thanksgiving in Spokane WA with Elizabeth and Family. We even got to see Steven and Kellie and family while we were there. We made some yummy desserts for Thanksgiving- I've had them sitting on my desk for nearly a month waiting to post them but it never quite happened- so here they are now!

The pecan pie bars I got from Leslie Hegseth who moved here from CA. We had a welcome to the neighborhood party in August and she brought these. I LOVED them, so of course I had to have the recipe. I got brave and asked her for it and this is what she sent me:

Ingredients:
Crust-
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cups packed brown sugar
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Topping-
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
2 tbsp heavy cream
2 cups chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 9x13 pan with foil leaving enough for a 2 inch overhang on all sides. 

First make the crust by creaming together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add in flour and salt and mix until crumbly. Press the crust into the foil lined pan and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. 

While the crust bakes prepare the filling by combining the butter, brown sugar, honey and heavy cream in a saucepan, stirring it over medium heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 minute, then stir in the chopped nuts. 

Remove the crust from the oven and immediately pour the pecan filling over the hot crust spreading it to cover the entire surface. 

Return the pan to the oven and bake an additional 20 minutes. 

Remove the pan and allow to cool fully in the pan. Use the foil overhang to lift the bars out and transfer to cutting board. Peel off foil and cut. 

Enjoy!
Leslie

Everyone liked them so much- I only got 1 quick picture while they were still in the pan. 

The next recipe is one Libby and I found on the internet. She bought fresh cranberries to make sauce. But NO ONE likes sauce so we decided to do something else with them. We tried a Cranberry Apple Cake recipe from Ina Garten and it was really good. Libby said she likes recipes from Ina Garten and when the cake was done Rob said he really liked it.

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored, and diced - we used what ever we had
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (2 oranges) - We used clementines
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice - clementines again
1 1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Combine the cranberries, apple, brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, and 1 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a medium bowl. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs on medium-high speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on medium, add 1 cup of the granulated sugar, the butter, vanilla, and sour cream and beat just until combined. On low speed, slowly add the flour and salt.
Pour the fruit mixture evenly into a 10-inch glass pie plate. Pour the batter over the fruit, covering it completely. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar and 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon and sprinkle it over the batter. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

We had a great time and didn't even miss the pies! They were still in the freezer and we never ate them. Thanks for the fun Elizabeth and Rob!

Halloween White Chili

This year for Halloween, we didn't do our traditional invite everyone over to our house party. It was different to not have the whole family over here, but with Justin and Ashlee living in a new neighborhood with sidewalks and kids I thought they'd prefer to go there and Olivia and Jessica have been trying to split time between there neighborhoods and ours for a few years. My girls don't want to stick around with cousins anyway- they want to do off with their friends. So Ryan and I hung out at home and handed out candy by ourselves - while working on bagpipes- but that's a different story.

Anyway, every year I make my traditional chili recipe - which isn't a recipe at all. You buy cans of every and any flavor of beans, a couple of cans of beanless chili and a couple of cans of Italian style stewed tomatoes and dump them in the crock-pot and let them cook all day. Every year our neighborhood has a get together on Halloween for soup and bread before the kids go off to trick or treat. We have usually made a quick appearance at the party to say hello before going home to our own family party, but this year we went to their party instead. (It lasts less than an hour- just long enough to eat.) But they asked me to bring a chili type soup. I found this recipe on Just a Pinch and thought maybe I should make that- but since it was new I wasn't sure how it would turn out. And Adria said I should just make the same chili I always make. I ended up making both. It's a good thing too because this new chili was a HIT and the traditional chili didn't turn out as well as usual. I made it in a smaller older crock pot I have had since we got married- I don't think it got hot enough to thicken like it usually does- so I'm blaming the crock pot for that failure.  Everyone liked the white chili! Several neighbors asked for the recipe and Genna had it for breakfast this morning and Pierce took it to lunch- Always a win if the kids will eat it as leftovers at lunch!


If you know me, you know I had to make some changes to the recipe - so here it is:

2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion
2 clove garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1 (7 oz) can chopped green chiles
3 (15.5 oz) cans white northern beans
2 (14oz) cans chicken broth
1 tsp salt - I think I added a little extra after I tasted it- but we use low sodium broth
1 tsp pepper - I didn't measure I just added some
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground oregano
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c sour cream - I didn't measure this either - just spooned some in- probably less than 1 cup.
Monterey Jack cheese, grated

Boil chicken until cooked and shred with a hand mixer. Meanwhile, chop the onion and finely dice the garlic. Saute onion, garlic and green chilies a large pan with the vegetable oil. Add the chili powder and shredded chicken. Mix until combined and then pour into the crock pot. Add the broth, beans (liquid too, although I partially drained 1 can because it seamed like a lot of liquid), cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook on low for 3 to 4 hours (I didn't really time it). During the last 30 to 60 minutes of cooking, stir in the whipping cream and sour cream. Serve hot sprinkled with cheese (and extra sour cream).

The only pics I have of the chili is the bowl Genna ate for breakfast this morning!